Kabul, Israel

Kabul (Arabic: كابول; Hebrew: כָּבּוּל) is an Arab town in the Northern District of Israel, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) southeast of Acre and north of Shefa-'Amr. In 2024 it had a population of 12,589. History Classical era Kabul is probably the Biblical Cabul mentioned in the Book of Joshua. Fragments of pottery from the Persian period have been found in Kabul, as well as excavated burial chambers, used from the 1st to the 4th centuries. During the Second Temple a family of kohanim lived in the village. The head priest was Shecania. In Roman times, Josephus called it "Chabolo" and camped there. He says it was a post from which incursions were made into the Galilee. Potsherds dating from the end of the Hellenistic–Early Roman period, Roman, and Byzantine periods have been found in the village. and bathhouse dating from the Byzantine Empire| era, and used well into the Umayyad era, have been excavated. Middle Ages Al-Muqaddasi visited Kabul in 985 CE, while it was under Abbasid rule. He writes that it was a town in the coastal district with fields of sugarcane: "They make the best sugar—better than in all the rest of Bilad ash-Sham." Ali of Herat reports in 1173 that two sons of Jacob are buried in the town, namely Reuben and Simeon. Kabul was one of the principal cities of Jund al-Urrdun. Its Crusader name was "Cabor". Remains of a building dating to the Mamluk period was excavated in 1999. Ottoman Empire In 1517, Kabul was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. In 1596, the village appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Acre, part of Safad Sanjak, with a population of 40 Muslim households, 9 Muslim bachelors, 14 Jewish households and 1 Jewish bachelor. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on wheat, barley, fruit trees, cotton, and bees, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 7,926 akçe. In 1859, the population was estimated to be 400 people, with 30 feddans as tillage. The French explorer Victor Guérin visited in 1875. He found many rock-cut cisterns, scattered cut stones, some of which were used in building, vestiges of a surrounding wall, and remains of sarcophagi adorned with discs and garlands." In 1881, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Kabul as a moderate sized village with olive groves to the north and south. A population list from about 1887 showed that Kabul had about 415 inhabitants; all Muslims. British Mandate In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the population is cited as 365 Muslims, increasing at the time of the 1931 census to 457, still all Muslims, in 100 houses. In the 1945 statistics the population was up to 560 Muslims, while the total land area was 10,399 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 1,065 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 5,539 for cereals, while 56 dunams were classified as built-up areas. Israel The village was captured by the Haganah on 15 July 1948 during Operation Dekel, particularly the Sheva Brigade. The village was not attacked and very few villagers left. However, some Kabul residents were among those from other villages who were expelled to 'Ara on 8 January 1949. Currently, there are five mosques in the town. In 1974, it received the status of local council by the government. Demographics In 1859 the population was estimated as being 400. In a 1922 census by the British Mandate of Palestine, Kabul had 365 inhabitants, rising to 457 in 1931. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the town of Kabul had a population of 7,134 in 1995, rising to 9,400 in 2005. Its inhabitants are mostly Muslims. Kabul's prominent families are Rayan, Hamoud, Taha, Morad, Hamdony, Ibrahim, Hebi, Uthman, Ashkar, Sharari, Akari, Badran and Bouqai. The town hosts a large number of Internally displaced Palestinians from the nearby destroyed villages of al-Birwa, al-Damun, Mi'ar and al-Ruways. All of the inhabitants are Arab citizens of Israel, mostly adherents of Islam. See also Arab localities in Israel References Bibliography External links Welcome To Kabul Survey of Western Palestine, Map 5: IAA, Wikimedia commons